Best Wine With Salmon: White, Rosé or Pinot Noir?

The best wine with salmon is a light, low-tannin red such as Pinot Noir, or a medium- to full-bodied white such as Chardonnay. Salmon is a rich, meaty fish, so it can take more wine than lighter white fish, but it still clashes with big, tannic reds. From there, the preparation decides: sparkling wine or rosé for smoked salmon, a touch of sweetness for teriyaki, crisp whites for sushi.

The short answer

Salmon dish	Best wine styles	Why it works
Grilled salmon	Pinot Noir, dry rosé	Light red with char and smoke; low tannin
Pan-seared, crispy skin	Pinot Noir, Beaujolais, Tavel rosé	Meaty texture suits light reds
Roasted or baked	Chardonnay, Pinot Noir	Weight matches the fish; follow the glaze
Poached, light sauce	Sauvignon Blanc, white Bordeaux	Zippy acidity for a delicate dish
Creamy or buttery sauce	Oaked Chardonnay, Grüner Veltliner	Rich wine for a rich sauce
Smoked salmon	Sparkling wine, dry rosé, dry Riesling	Acidity against salt and smoke
Teriyaki or sweet glaze	Off-dry Riesling, Gewürztraminer, rosé	A little sweetness for a sweet sauce
Sushi and raw salmon	Dry sparkling wine, crisp whites, light Pinot Noir	Light wines that don’t drown the fish

Sources for this table: Wine Folly’s salmon and fish guides, and Wine Spectator’s salmon, recipe and sushi articles.

Why salmon works with both white and red

Most fish wants white wine, and there’s a reason. Wine Folly explains that tannin, the drying, grippy element in red wine, can react with fish oils and leave a metallic aftertaste. So with fish, the safe reds are low-tannin ones.

Salmon is the exception that proves the rule. It’s oily and rich, with a meaty texture, so a light red has enough in common with it to work. Wine Spectator describes Pinot Noir as medium-bodied, not very tannic and moderately acidic, and warns against bigger, tannic wines such as young Cabernet Sauvignon. Wine Folly makes the same call: rich, oily salmon suits full-bodied whites, with rosé or light, low-tannin reds as alternatives depending on the preparation and sauce.

Our pick if you only buy one bottle: an Oregon Pinot Noir. Wine Spectator recommends Oregon’s style as a balance between riper California Pinot and more restrained Burgundy, and it covers grilled, roasted and glazed salmon. Our best pinot noir under $20 list has research-based options with critic scores and dated prices.

Grilled salmon

Grilled salmon and Pinot Noir is, in the words of a Wine Spectator recipe column, one of the tried-and-true red-with-fish combinations. The column explains that Pinot’s bright acidity pairs well with a lemon-butter sauce, and that the grill’s char brings out the wine’s savory side and its fruit.

Dry rosé is the other easy choice, especially in summer. Wine Spectator’s salmon guide lists red, rosé, sparkling and white as options for grilled salmon, so this is a dish where you can follow your own taste.

Pan-seared salmon with crispy skin

A crisp-skinned fillet has a flaky, almost steak-like texture. Wine Folly suggests light reds and bold rosés here: Grenache rosé from Tavel, Beaujolais (made from the Gamay grape), a Valpolicella blend, Carignan, or rosé Lambrusco. Its advice is to find a low-tannin red so the pairing doesn’t taste metallic.

In our view, this is the best way to serve salmon to a red wine drinker, and a lightly chilled Beaujolais is an easy, low-tannin choice.

Roasted and baked salmon

Roasted salmon falls between white and red, and the glaze or sauce tips the balance. Wine Spectator’s guide pairs a crispy salmon with beurre blanc with white Burgundy or another Chardonnay, which has a similar weight to the buttery sauce. It advises against heavily oaked Chardonnay, which can overwhelm mild flavors.

For glazed, baked salmon, the same guide matches Pinot Noir to the glaze: California Pinot Noir with a blackberry glaze, Oregon Pinot Noir with a mushroom glaze, and red Burgundy with a miso glaze.

Poached salmon

Poaching keeps salmon delicate, so a big wine can bury it. A Wine Spectator recipe column paired poached salmon with a cucumber-yogurt sauce with a white Bordeaux, explaining that a zippy white made more sense there than the usual Pinot Noir. The wine was mostly Sauvignon Blanc, with enough body for the fish and citrus notes for the sauce.

If the poached salmon comes with a cream sauce, such as dill, béarnaise or horseradish and capers, Wine Folly suggests richer whites: oak-aged Chardonnay, Australian Sémillon, Grüner Veltliner, or a warm-climate Sauvignon Blanc. The sauce’s creaminess and herbs match the wine’s richness.

Smoked salmon

Smoked salmon is salty, smoky and a little drier than fresh fish. Wine Folly says richly smoked fish needs wines that quench it, and lists Garnacha rosé, vintage Champagne, sparkling rosé, dry Riesling, dry Furmint and white Pinot Noir. Its salmon guide adds that the wine needs enough acidity and flavor to stand up to the salty, fishy notes.

Our pick: a dry sparkling wine for smoked salmon on blinis or bagels. It’s festive, and the acidity and bubbles refresh the palate after every salty bite.

Tip: Capers, red onion and lemon all add acidity to a smoked salmon plate. Choose a wine with plenty of acidity of its own, or it can taste flat next to them.

Teriyaki and sweet glazes

Sweetness in food makes a wine taste drier, less fruity and more bitter, as the WSET (a wine education body) explains, so a teriyaki, honey-soy or maple glaze needs a wine with fruit and a touch of sweetness. Wine Folly suggests off-dry Lambrusco, bolder rosés, Moscato, Torrontés, Gewürztraminer or white Pinot Noir for sweet-glazed salmon.

We’d reach for an off-dry Riesling, whose sweetness and acidity suit a sticky glaze.

Salmon sushi and raw salmon

Raw fish wants light wines that stay in the background. Wine Spectator’s sushi guide recommends dry blanc de blancs Champagne as a versatile start, crisp Loire Valley whites or Vermentino for delicate fish, and notes that fattier fish such as salmon can take a richer white or a light, elegant red such as Pinot Noir or Gamay. It warns against big, high-alcohol reds.

Wine Folly’s list for raw fish is mostly sparkling wines and bone-dry whites: Muscadet, Assyrtiko, Vinho Verde and Albariño. If you prefer a Loire white, a Sancerre wine is a crisp Sauvignon Blanc that fits the brief.

Soy sauce changes things a little. Wine Spectator notes that soy is rich in umami, and that the author often pairs richer, soy-dressed fish with red Burgundy or a cru Beaujolais.

What to avoid

• Big, tannic reds. Young Cabernet Sauvignon and other bold, tannic reds can overpower salmon and taste metallic with it.
• Very oaky whites with delicate dishes. Heavy oak can overwhelm poached or raw salmon.
• Bone-dry wines with sweet glazes. The glaze will make them taste sour.

Finding a good bottle

Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, rosé and sparkling wine are all easy to find for under $20. Our best wine under $20 list compares published critic scores with current US prices. For the principles behind these matches, see our wine and food pairing guide.

Wine is for adults of legal drinking age (21 in the US). Please drink responsibly.